Structured products limp back into favour

Sales are back to record levels in Korea and could even make a return in Hong Kong and Singapore.

The last wave of risky financial products led to years of protests in Hong Kong and elsewhere

Derivatives have copped a lot of flak since the global financial crisis. Retail investors in particular have turned their backs on structured instruments such as accumulators, which many now see as unsafe, deceptive and complicated.

The widespread losses incurred by holders of Lehman Brothers’ minibonds in Hong Kong and Singapore also encouraged regulators to crack down on issuance, leading to an almost complete halt of sales to the public in both markets.